PLANNING AND EVALUATION CORE PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Planning and Evaluation Core (PEC) serves as a facilitative resource to provide oversight and data support in the development, implementation, coordination, and management of all Partnership activities for the Partnership's Infection-Driven Malignancies Program for Advancing Careers and Translational Sciences (IMPACT). This core, which works collaboratively with the Administrative, and DATAOmics Cores, provides assistance with the daily activities of the Partnership, including, but not limited to, data collection, data evaluation, and meeting planning, as well as to spearhead short-term and long-term strategic planning and prioritization for the successful achievement of Partnership initiatives. The PEC is composed of an Evaluation Team (ET), the Internal Advisory Committee (IAC) and the Program Steering Committee (PSC). Through these three components, the PEC conducts via a continuous process, the planning and evaluation of all partnership activities. Specific Aims for the PEC include: 1) Provide continuous support to cores and research projects to incorporate evaluation tools and approaches in order to document Partnership's progress and accomplishments; 2) Promote an evaluation culture supported through a rigorous internal reviewing process in order to continuously improve Partnership performance and maximize resources; and 3) Support a critical external assessment process of the Partnership in order to enhance its performance, provide recommendations for improvements and inform new directions.